Increased concentrations of plasma growth arrest-specific 6 and its soluble tyrosine kinase receptor sAxl in Taiwanese women with pelvic inflammatory disease

Backgrounds: To investigate the concentrations of plasma growth arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) and its soluble tyrosine kinase receptor sAxl in women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and their association with clinical outcomes of PID. Methods: Blood specimens were consecutively collected from the 64 patients with PID before and after treatment and 70 healthy women in university hospital. Concentrations of plasma Gas6 and sAxl were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The concentration of plasma Gas6 and sAxl was significantly increased in the patients with PID compared to the healthy controls, and then reduced significantly after treatment. Gas6 was significantly correlated with sAxl. When we selected 7.5 and 15.2. ng/ml as the cutoff concentration of plasma Gas6 and sAxl to detect PID respectively, the sensitivities of Gas6 and sAxl were 76.6% and 75.0%. When Gas6 and sAxl were combined, the sensitivity rose to 92.2%. They were not related to the incidences of tuboovarian abscesses and surgery, which were, however, significantly associated with length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Novel application of Gas6 or sAxl in combination had a high sensitivity to detect PID and is important in order to prevent severe sequelae.